1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to bindings for sports equipment and more particularly, to sport boots and bindings for releaseable attachment to snowboards and the like.
2. Description of Prior Art
A snowboard is an elongated, monolithic board with at least one upturned end. Bindings secure a snowboarder's boots to the snowboard. Normally, the snowboarder's boots are oriented generally transverse or at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the snowboard. The snowboarder's stance is similar to that of a skateboarder or surfer.
A snowboard is controlled by the snowboarder's weight transfer, foot movement, and balance. It is important for the snowboarder's foot to be held securely in contact with the top surface of the snowboard. Any foot movement within the boot or binding could have a significant effect on the snowboarder's ability to control the snowboard.
Also desirable, is a close distance from the bottom of the snowboarder's feet to the top surface of the snowboard, thus providing a lower center of gravity for the snowboarder, which allows increased balance and control of the snowboard.
Often a snowboarder must hike or walk great distances to the snowboarding destination. It is desirable to have a boot that is comfortable for snowboarding as well as walking and hiking.
Also desirable, is a binding that is light in weight. A lighter weight binding contributes to an increase in snowboarder control and maneuverability of the snowboard.
It is also desirable to have a binding that allows both quick and easy entries and exits of the boots. A snowboarder must remove the rear boot from its binding in order to use the ski lift, and must remove both boots in order to hike up the mountain. Thus, it is desirable for the rider to spend time snowboarding rather than entering or exiting the binding.
Current snowboard bindings are of three major categories: soft boot and buckle bindings, plate bindings, and step-in bindings.
The soft boot and buckle bindings have: rigid bases attached to the snowboard, rear leg supports, straps to wrap around the boot, and buckles to secure the straps in place. The soft boots, when removed from the bindings, are either standard insulated snow boots, or slightly modified snow boots. The soft boots generally have light weight, and offer a close distance from the foot to the snowboard top surface, have few moving parts, are comfortable and are easy to walk and hike in, and are simple and cost effective to manufacture. However, the buckle binding makes it difficult to eliminate boot movement within the binding, which produces a loss of edge control. A snowboarder may attempt to gain more edge control by tightening the binding straps around the boots. However, such overtightening can seriously sacrifice foot comfort. In addition, the buckle binding can make entries and exits time consuming and cumbersome.
In an effort to add more edge control, mountaineering-type boots have been used with plate bindings. These boots include a molded plastic, stiff outer shell and a soft inner liner, similar to ski boots. The boots then mount on the snowboard using plate bindings. Plate bindings have both heel and toe bails that attach to associated heel and toe sole extensions that secure the boot in place. These bindings offer virtually no foot movement within the boot or binding, thus good edge control ability for the snowboarder. Also, these bindings have few moving parts that can malfunction, are simple and cost effective to manufacture, and allow quick and easy entries and exits. Also, the plate binding pulls the boot tight to the binding base. Boot tread wear does not lessen the desired tight contact with the binding base. However, due to the rigid plastic shell, the boots generally feel uncomfortable during snowboarding. Also, due to the need for a rigid sole from heel to toe, walking and hiking is both difficult and uncomfortable. Although the binding is relatively light in weight, the boot is relatively much heavier than other types of boots.
Step-in bindings have recently emerged to address the need for a binding with increased edge control, soft boot comfort, and quick and easy entry and exit. Most step-in bindings have a soft boot upper with a rigid sole from heel to toe. Incorporated into the bottom of the sole is an attachment member. The binding base, which is attached to the snowboard, includes a mechanism that engages this boot sole attachment member. Most step-in bindings offer foot comfort while snowboarding, good edge control ability, and generally quick and easy entry and exit. However, due to the rigid sole, walking and hiking remains both difficult and uncomfortable. Also, because the binding attachment is generally made part of the sole of the boot, the distance the snowboarder's foot is from the top surface of the snowboard is significantly increased, pushing the snowboarder's center of gravity higher. In addition, many step-in bindings require complicated attachment mechanisms, such as springs and cams, that make malfunctions more likely. Also, since many of the attachment mechanisms are recessed into the bottom of the boot sole, they may be susceptible to clogging with ice or snow, making entry and exit into the binding difficult. In addition, most step-in boot attachments rest on top of the engaging mechanism incorporated into the binding. Boot tread wear or binding parts wear could result in a gap between the boot and the binding base, thus resulting in a lack of direct contact of the boot to the snowboard. This effect could result in undesirable foot movement of the boot and a reduction of snowboarder edge control.